This has been an interesting thread to say the least. So allow me to add a bit of grist to the mill. Recently I was going to have this old POS floor jack looked at, to see if it could be repaired, bare in mind, it was a throw away from the local insurance impound car sales here in Seattle, it was left outside of the fence, I grabbed it and took it home about 12 years ago, and used it a few times, and it worked. Sadly, it got left in a high moisture area and the rest is history. It was just like the floor jacks I used to buy at sears over 20 years ago. I took it to a local shop that services jacks, "Universal Repair Service " here in Seattle, that I have experience with in the past. As soon as the owner of the shop saw it, he said, its junk and not worth the time at $80.00 an hour, to discover that its junk, and I agreed, so I left it with him in his junk pile as I set off to buy a new, 2 ton automotive floor jack. Bare in mind, at this particular shop, there are two classic floor jacks that the owner of the business owns and they are not for sale, they are the cool old school jacks, that you never see anymore, one is hydraulic and one is mechanical, and you can see that these are the genuine article, extremely well built, very stout, and built to last a lifetime by craftspeople in this country a long time ago. I still have good connections with an industrial supply house that I used to work for, and I can still get things for cost plus 5%. So I said to my connection, educate me on floor jacks now, what is good what is bad, price, etc etc etc. Man what an eye opening experience that was. I was thinking, can I get something of good quality for under $300.00 ? He said he would do the research and get back to me with a price. Try as he might, he could not beat the price at Amazon, for $401.00 plus tax. And there was one on the shelf at my local O 'Reilly's for $411.99 plus tax. Bare in mind, you cant really buy a Blackhawk, or a Balkamp, or a Walker like we used to do, back in the 60's, all of that stuff just doesn't exist anymore, as a really high quality USA built automotive floor jack. Enter the name of these guys, " SHINN FU COMPANY OF AMERICA " They bought the name " Hein Werner " and they are the overseas outfit that builds the automotive floor jacks under the "HEIN WERNER " name and the jacks are assembled here in the USA . I had to hold my breath and go ahead and go over to the parts house and purchase a new 2 ton automotive floor jack. I just didn't want to go to Harbor Freight to buy a $150.00 floor jack, only to possibly have it fail, so I opted to go for the high priced unit. Amazing that it list's for dam near $700.00, so this is what $454.22 will buy you these days, if you want a 2 ton floor jack that is well built. I am still amazed that, this is what it cost's these days, to get something like this floor jack ! Granted, this isn't as radical or as controversial as the original intent and topic of this thread, but the days of getting something that is built in this country, because you want quality and doing your best to buy American, man, times have changed, and I know this is no secret or surprise to those that are deep into the quagmire of trying to do the right thing and buy American made products. " Your mileage may vary " You can bet that this jack, wont be loaned out, or mistreated by neglect !
Good point @Tman , to further illustrate a point, its amazing how much similarity there is between the POS junk jack and the current design of the new one I bought. The new one has some slight differences in the frame, and the new one doesn't have the inter-meshing stamped cog wheels, it has a universal joint instead. There are those, that may consider, that I over paid for the new jack, but it has a 2 year warranty, and it works ! " Money has no value, unless its spent "
I did the same research, looking for quality, and a high lift. Ended up with a jack made in Denmark that lifts 31" or so. Only complaint on that one I've ever seen is flimsy wheels. And that I paid almost $900 total for it. It'll sit next to the 40 year old Japanese Craftsman that still works well, but only lifts 19".
HRtH is right, although I think that maybe some extra convincing is in order. Say, like a large # of (nice) letters w/signatures - & of course, having the balls to actually follow thru. Like: Dear (Whomever); I have 3 projects cars needing (headers/mufflers/etc), & was considering your company for them. After seeing & handling (or seeing close-up pics) the (headers/muffler/etc) of the quality you put out, I have decided that I will never buy anything from you, esp considering the price. The current quality is not worth my owning at any price. If the quality improves markedly, & the price becomes reasonable, I'll reconsider my position. Thankyou for saving me a lot of $$$. Sincerely; Xxxxx The stuff in parentheses needs to be tailored & personalized to the situation. No form letters. This would best if the letter(s) were signed by each man/woman & sent singularly instead of 1 letter w/ lots of signatures, esp like in HRtH case w/the 40 club members, or in response to this HAMB thread by 19Eddy30, referencing where & what the item was handled/seen, & addressed to the owner &/or CEO of the co + also the CFO. The ceo probably won't care, but the cfo will, as each letter promises loss of revenue. This isn't so much about piling on to help w/OP situation, but to inform co that loss of revenue is on it's way, & the reason behind it. These guys know that if someone actually writes a letter, it's important, as most won't even call to complain. Just a thought. Marcus...
Statistics say that only 1 in a thousand will take the time to write a letter and complain to a company. Thats why we get substandard shit for good money, its not a question of Sanderson not being able to find good welders, regardless of the wage, it's their lack of interest in training people to put out the best product money can buy. I for one, will always put out for quality, I just took the highest bid to have the outside of my house painted, they were the only ones I've seen any quality from, they got the job. It's not about the money.
Im still waiting on Return calls & emails, I'm hearing crickets!!! Been down this road Several times, Might have to get Bank involved, and that eats up time. So as of know on hold , unable to move forward on these Builds ,
Talked to one of my suppliers(California). With California now wearing masks. They are down to only two office people(not known what they had before ? ). With a backlog of 3 months minimum production time. And that`s if they can get the raw materials. Getting worse by the day. Now with fewer workers showing up now with the new mandates. It`s only gonna get worse.
That’s interesting, I work in a warehouse with several hundred people, no masks required if you show your vaccination card. I also notice 100% supermarket employees wear a mask, but maybe only 25% of shoppers. If my area is any indication, seems like things are loosening up. Hopefully things get “back to normal” soon. Now that doesn’t solve a materials issue that could come from who knows where.
1 vote, can influence 10 other voters, in my opinion, the same with letter writing to the powers that be that own the business or the board of directors !
Up date The Head supervisor of the Collector Mufflers reach out & contacted me to Day , According to him he was shocked to see the quality of that very expensive muffler was shipped, The Main headquarters / Development is located in California, The Mufflers are actually assembled at the factory in Tennessee by Hand , He is working on Replacements , He also Knows this Line of Mufflers are not Purchased and used by the Average vehicle owner , the market for this type of product is NHRA & IHRA Specific Classes . I not trying to be secretive who the Manufacture is, But the Ones that are Hard core Racers Can tell by the shape & being a collector muffler know the manufacture, They are for my steel 32 ford full fenders car that uses Super Gas Header style over the fenders . The Block huggers , The Vender that sells the Brand of Block hugger's , I talked with them sent over 15 pictures , they are going to contact the company & ask seconds about the headers Craftsmanship , if this was a set that was sent out as seconds or if this is Standard acceptable craftsmanship , I pointed out to them , the description of the manufacture statements ""Why You /Us Hot Rodders """ should buy their product. This set is Not to those ""standards." I was told If the manufacture says these header are the Norm , they will stop selling this Brand of Header . The Manufacture and the vendor that sells this brand are both located in Cal. The vendor told me they want to sell only good quality parts and their customers to be happy. I ordered from the vendor because they were the only ones that had That Pacific part number in stock without a two week wait.
Hey 41 GMC K-18, "got left in a high moisture area"? You live in Seattle! That is a "high moisture area"! I live just outside Vancouver BC and we too are in a "high moisture area"...LOL
Wow. Sorry you are enduring this. I guess this is the very reason that we started buying up all the tools bad equipment that we could afford. My theory was that way we control everything that we can. And it’s then our fault. I know everyone can’t afford to buy up equipment and do there own thing ,but this is exactly why we did. I am Ticky about my headers. We have built every set that we have used in the last 25 years. It is not nearly as easy as every one thinks and to do properly you need the project in front of you. Yes there ARE that many variables. And every build is different. Depending on hp/engine position and one thing that almost everyone forgets is the ability to work on everything else and not have to disassemble the car to do other stuff. ( started motor mounts pan and steering. My welds were not always a stack if dimes( I do use a mig some times ) but I have sanding disk and skin/sweat /and blood for that. I could not imagine sending that out. Look at my builds and you get the idea. The last set I built everyone loved and I was not happy with because I could not get the thermal coating perfect the way I wanted.I like. 60s white header look ) I just couldn’t do that kinda of work and charge someone that kind of price. But we are a very small group in our part of the world. I really don’t know what to say. I really thought someone was showing me import stuff when I first saw the pics. I am still kinda in shock. I would have to get my money back. And I know that will probably be hard to do but what bugs me is how they didn’t even spot weld the tubes on the-face side after hopefully welding the head flange side. No one hardly does that anymore. And for what you paid. Wow
My friend a jack that looks identical to the blue Hein Warner 2 ton jack shown above.. Jacked up one front wheel of a late model 3/4 ton truck and the jack twisted sideways.
Hey @Fortunateson , grinning to myself here, " got left in a high moisture area " is just a polite way of saying, that is was ME, that left it out back in the berry bushes, in back of the house, for the last few years, and the pictures provided, tells the tale of its demise. It used to rain a lot here in Seattle, not so much anymore.
Hey @19Eddy30 , I am glad that you hung in there and that your efforts to communicate with the manufactures of those headers, at least got a response ! Perseverance pays off, at least in this instance, it did.
Hey @Truckedup , I assure you, that when I use this jack next week, to raise up the truck in my back yard, to change the rear wheel, if this new jack, twists side ways or has any hiccups at all, it will be photo documented and it will be put right back in the box it came in and returned for a full refund, and then e mails, with the complaint, will be sent to the manufactures to let them know how the product is performing in the field, ( or berry bushes ) Grin.
Way back when, a buddy of mine worked for Hein Warner...in Waukesha, Wi. Among other things he did the owner’s manuals. The reason they stopped production had a lot to do with liability...has anyone ever had any success suing a Chinese manufacture?
My favorite decades of the USA were the 20's 30's 40's, of course the 50's and some 60's, but I draw the line around, years 71-72, after that, the quality of just about everything that was manufactured in the USA ,fell prey to the element of " Planned obsolescence ". You don't see any Japanese people or Chinese people or Asian people walking around with an American made camera dangling from their neck ! Zenith television's had the slogan " The quality goes in, before the name goes on ", Sad to say, that's all history now !
In most cases unfortunately its the distributor or selling dealer or both who get sued not the off shore manufacturer. Unless its a US company just making the crap off shore. Years ago a buddy owned an auto parts store. There were many products like floor jacks and jack stands he wouldn't sell because the distributor didn't have liability insurance. He couldn't to take the chance of having to defend a law suit for something he only sold not manufactured.
.has anyone ever had any success suing a Chinese manufacture?[/QUOTE] Sorry miss read , ""I thought it said ,, success in using a Chinese manufacture!! there is a Owner that Purchased the trademark of a Popular Wheel name alot of us use on our H-R s from the 60s to early 70s, ( custom backspacing ) His hoops & mouthing Spokes /etc Two pieces wheel design is all made to his spec from China supplier. Then he welds them , Not Cheap!! His & Wife wheels are flawless, Located in Cal,
41 GMC For the headers , After reading Complaints about the manufacture of the Headers, I feel no point to complain to them, So I called Vender/Dealer, Talked with them sent pic, The Dealer is going to reach out to Manufacture , I was told by the Vender/Dealer if this is there Standard Craftsmanship from the Manufacture, The Vender / Dealer is going to Drop that Manufacture & not continue to sell there Products .
Sorry miss read , ""I thought it said ,, success in using a Chinese manufacture!! there is a Owner that Purchased the trademark of a Popular Wheel name alot of us use on our H-R s from the 60s to early 70s, ( custom backspacing ) His hoops & mouthing Spokes /etc Two pieces wheel design is all made to his spec from China supplier. Then he welds them , Not Cheap!! His & Wife wheels are flawless, Located in Cal,[/QUOTE] All the "cloak and dagger" secrecy is tiresome. You're not educating anyone just chatting with the small minority of HAMBers who already know what you're talking about. Name some names and save somebody the same grief.
All the "cloak and dagger" secrecy is tiresome. You're not educating anyone just chatting with the small minority of HAMBers who already know what you're talking about. Name some names and save somebody the same grief.[/QUOTE] Yeah, the OP thinks he is Tom Clancy or something. What a lame thread. I need a secret decoder ring for this
I do agree. WTF is with the "I'll not name those who sold me crap for a princely sum"? Show the pics, describe the bad crap, name the co & names. If they make it right due to a mistake, then come back n give'm praise. If they don't make it right, then let folks know that. Pictures n accurate description isn't libel. Hiding names isn't the truth. I'm not big on guessing games. Marcus...
Agree about naming names. It's not libel or slander if it's true. The photo evidence is pretty compelling. Being "that guy" who writes the CEO is a very good thing. My brother was in the firewood biz for many years and only used Stihl chainsaws. High price, high quality saws. He bought a newer one in the nineties I thing and it was a turd from the get go. Couldn't get it to run right. Stihl doesn't sell through box stores, only servicing dealers. He had his saw tuned up at a servicing dealer. A tree fell at my place and he came over to help in the cleanup. (BTW, we both raced 2 stroke sprint and road race karts and know how to tune a carb.) His saw wouldn't run right. It wouldn't hold a carb setting, it wouldn't RPM, sounded wrong. Seemed to me it had an air leak. He took it back to the servicing dealer and they said F U, it's partially seized, user error. Thanks for playin'. He wrote the president of Stihl USA in VA Beach VA. In short order a Stihl directly employed rep out of their Visalia DC showed up with a loaner saw, an apology and a pledge to make his saw right. They did and he still has that saw. Stuff is going to happen, let them know. Their true test is how they react. Stihl USA was and is world class.
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